Florida Rep. Trey Radel to Resign After Cocaine Arrest

Rep. Henry “Trey” Radel (R., Fla.) pauses as he meets with local media during a Nov. 20, 2013 news conference at his district office in Cape Coral, Fla, (REUTERS/Steve Nesius/Files)

Reuters

Rep. Trey Radel (R., Fla.) said he will step down from Congress on Monday after being arrested on a cocaine-possession charge at a Washington restaurant last year.

Mr. Radel, who represents an area of Florida that includes Naples and Fort Myers, was facing an investigation from the House Committee on Ethics over the arrest and subsequent guilty plea for cocaine possession. The congressman was arrested after trying to purchase the drug from an undercover police officer. He later pleaded guilty and received a year of probation.

In a resignation letter (PDF) to House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), Mr. Radel acknowledged his actions had “serious consequences.” He added: “While I have dealt with those issues on a personal level, it is my belief that professionally I cannot fully and effectively serve as a United States Representative to the place I love and call home.”

The letter said his resignation would take effect 6:30 p.m. EST Monday evening.

Mr. Radel was arrested last October after purchasing 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover officer following a meeting at a restaurant in the capital’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. After pleading guilty and receiving a year of probation, the former journalist and talk-show host took a leave of absence from Congress to seek treatment for alcoholism.

Mr. Radel had resisted calls to step down, even in the face of an investigation by the House Committee on Ethics, which voted unanimously late last year to probe his arrest. At least one Florida lawmaker, state Rep. Paige Kreegel, had already announced a plan to challenge Mr. Radel in a GOP primary.

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